Katherine Mansfield House and Garden (Private)

The garden we have created is an intensive late-Victorian, Edwardian colonial garden that reflects the plants available during Mansfield’s life time. There is an emphasis on the plants and flowers mentioned in her writing and those which reflect her personality.

The garden is small but well-formed and features the following plants:

The garden was begun in 1988 shortly after the restoration of the house. Research shows that the front garden comprised of a small lawn and a narrow gravel path, while the back garden had another small lawn running into a native bush gully. The design of the front garden is representational of how settlers of the time would have planted, while the back section gives a nod to the original landscape with the planting of more natives.

The garden is fully fenced and is open to the public 6 days a week between 10am and 4pm. Like all gardens, ours is a work in progress and there are plans to change the surface of the drive to gravel – the original surface – and upgrade much of the fencing.